1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a fishing reel screw operation structure. More specifically, the present invention relates to a fishing reel screw operation structure that is attached to a reel unit of a fishing reel.
2. Background Information
A screw operation structure is widely used in conventional fishing reels in order to make various mechanisms installed in a reel unit of the fishing reel adjustable. One example of this type of screw operation structure is one that serves to adjust the drag force of a rear drag mechanism on a rear drag type spinning reel.
The screw operation structure employed in the rear drag mechanism of a conventional spinning reel includes a screw-in portion, a closed-end cylindrical operation knob, a pushing member, and an attachment bolt. The screw-in portion includes a threaded portion that is formed on the rear portion of the reel unit. The operation knob can be screwed onto the threaded portion. The pushing member pushes the rear drag mechanism, and the attachment bolt attaches the operation knob to the pushing member. In this configuration, when the operation knob falls off of the screw-in portion, the pushing member that is attached to the operation knob will fall off, and problems such as the rear drag mechanism becoming disassembled will occur. Because of this, a retaining member is mounted to the screw-in portion of a conventional spinning reel so that the pushing member will not fall off of the screw-in portion. The retaining member is, for example, a semi-circular spring member, and both ends thereof pass through the screw-in portion to engage with the pushing member. Thus, the operation knob fixed to the pushing member will also not fall off of the reel unit because the pushing member is retained such that it will not fall off from the rear of the screw-in portion due to the retaining member being mounted to the screw-in portion.
In conventional screw operation structures as those shown in Japanese Utility Model No. S60-168375 (FIGS. 1 and 6), the push member is mounted to the rear portion of the rear drag mechanism attached to the reel unit. Next, the retaining member is mounted to the screw-in portion to retain the pushing member. Finally, with the operation knob screwed onto the screw-in portion, the operation knob is fixed to the pushing member by the attachment bolt.
In this conventional structure, in order to attach the operation knob to the reel unit, the retaining member must be mounted to the screw-in portion to retain the pushing member before fixing the operation knob to the pushing member with the attachment bolt. However, there are limitations on the shape and the position of the retaining member because the complex rear drag mechanism is disposed on the rear portion of the reel unit and only a limited amount of space is provided. These limitations with respect to the retaining member complicate the screw operation structure and the task of assembling the same.
In view of the above, there exists a need for a screw operation structure which overcomes the above mentioned problems in the prior art. This invention addresses this need in the prior art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.